If the player is both entertaining and skilled, I like watching Magic Online streamers. LSV, Cheon, Finkel, Michael Jacob, Bing Luke, those folks. So much to learn from them. Not so much with Travis Woo or Numot.
Basically this. I do watch some people stream new video games (like GTA5 or Mario Kart 8) but mostly it’s Magic Online streams for me.
P.S. you’re giving Bing too much credit. 
I watch DOTA and SC2 mostly, so, competitive stuff. I’ll also go through Magic Online binges once or twice a year - I really like drafting but it gets expensive fast, and it’s almost as fun to watch a good draft video if the caster is entertaining. Oh, and I’ll try to watch some of those Games Done Quick charity speed-runs if they do a game I’m interested in.
It’s all good no-mental-effort required stuff to wind down after a long day at work.
I like to watch my husband play games that I don’t actually plan to play myself (Just Cause 2, Bioshock Infinite, or GTA5 for example), or games that I’ve played before and I enjoyed a lot. Though, it’s not watching so much as “doing something in the same room as him”. I’ll usually tend to grab the funny bits out of the corner of my eye and I’ll get a grasp of the story without having to do it myself. If it’s a game I like a lot I get to rewatch all my favorite scenes without putting in any effort to get there. It’s pretty enjoyable.
I’ve also watched some video Let’s Plays but not a whole lot. Generally I only like to watch games that I don’t plan on actually playing myself but still have some interest in or would find funny once. Goat Simulator or Octodad seem like prime suspects.
And glitch videos? You cannot make me stop laughing at Tony Hawk physics videos or the GTA carmageddon videos.
And written out comedy LP’s like Dwarf Fortress’ Boatmurdered or a playthrough of Hatoful Boyfriend? Hilarious.
I will point out that millions of people watch other people play sports such as football, tennis, or golf and I pretty much consider this the exact same thing.
From time to time. Usually if its something I don’t have access to or its noteworthy for some other reason.
I wouldn’t watch a TV show or a video on the web, not judging anyone that would, that just has zero appeal for me.
I have watched my kids play certain games, particularly FPS games. Because I’m horrible at them, I’m much better off spectating. Controllers last longer that way. Plus it was a real kick watching my daughter play something like Modern Warfare 2 (if memory serves) online. Everyone just knows there’s no such thing as an actual gamer-girl, so she got accused of being a twelve year old boy a lot by the cynics. She also got called some pretty horrible things, which was much less amusing. There’s a reason online content isn’t rated by the ESRB. She would often put it right back in the funny column, though, by whipping out the old “U Mad Bro?” or something similar without missing a beat. I do admire her pluck. 
I’ve enjoyed other games peripherally that I had little to no interest in personally, like Little Big Planet and Portal 2, among others.
But if it’s a game I want to play myself, then they’d best get offa my TV and go read a book or something. 
HAIL! 
Have you heard, they’re either going to do or have already started a run-through of Pokemon X/Y. Yikes. 
I’ve watched some of the pro stuff for League of Legends and Starcraft, but that’s about it. I tried watching a pro match of Hearthstone once, but got so annoyed that one of the players always waited the full amount of time for his turn that I couldn’t take it anymore and turned it off.
I had forgotten completely about Game Center CX since it must have been off season, but an online channel I watch started streaming the new episode tonight and I was immediately reminded. It’s a fun japanese show where a fellow marathons games from old consoles like the snes. He also goes around the country visiting arcades and corner stores with old game cabinets. I always enjoy watching it. Sometimes I inadvertently yell along with his successes and failures in particularly hard levles. Anyway, I’m sure that counts as well for this thread.
I’m a story gamer, mostly, so I prefer watching a lot of the time. Sure, I might like to play for a little bit, if the mechanics are really engaging, but mostly I like the story. The only reason I might want to not watch is if the game requires me to think, like adventure games. And, even then, I can often just pause the video and figure something out.
The commentary and reactions are also a huge part of it. If the commenter is boring, I will not want to watch. I want the experience I got in college of watching people I knew and liked playing games that were interesting. I don’t know anyone who plays games who doesn’t also watch games in that context. If a Let’s Play makes me feel like I’m in the context, it works.
There are just so many games out there that I find interesting but would not really want to play. Let’s Plays let me get to enjoy them anyways.
I enjoyed the Duncan Plays Grim Fandango series, as it was fun to watch someone play through the game with commentary. He had played the game years before but not recently, so it gave a good feel of him working out the puzzles but without spending hours going back and forth on the same thing.
I love HelixSnake’s abuses of the Skate 3 physics engine. I wonder a little at how many hours some of these stunts took to set up.
I would say easily 1/4 of my TV viewing is made up of traditional television, and the other half is pure gaming stuff.
Competitive gaming I dabble in: I’ll watch the lats few matches of a big DOTA 2 or SC2 tournament. Occasionally I’ll watch something smaller where the personalities are funny or interesting like the Guns of Icarus or the Chivalry medieval warfare matches between the TGN you tube channel guys and gals like Total Biscuit.
The rest of the time I watch a handful of people playing games, but usually when there’s something interesting I want to know about. In other words, I don’t sit and watch a let’s play of a Total war campaign, but I will watch the same guy talk about the latest patch of the game, or some other guy play and discuss the latest early access games on Steam.
It’s a neat way to get a lot more in depth coverage on a swath of different games.
Yesterday for example I watched Scott Manley discuss the latest Kerbal Space Program patch, Total Biscuit discuss the CNN report on twitch, Captain Shack had some videos covering the latest Star Citizen ships, and I watched another of the games I missed from the latest DOTA2 tournament.
Since it’s on my TV, I can do other stuff while I watch too, like check out the forums, or play a game.
I used to all the time, and it was one of my favorite things in the world to do.
I don’t know why, but I always enjoyed watching people play games. It was almost a bonding thing because I would watch my brother play with his friends and enjoy the competition.
And then in college my roommate would play turn-based RPGs (Shining in the Darkness IIRC) and those games are pretty involved to a level I was never good in, but he was. I thought it was fun to watch him choose his fighters and moves, potions, strategically place his people on the battlefield.
It was fun for me.
That being said, I’ve ever watched anyone play online other than trying to figure out strategy for some games. The most I did was watch a single player Mass Effect 3 online game for tips
I question your math, sir. 
1/2 + 1/4 = half-life 3!
I watch quite a bit of video games on YouTube, walkthroughs, reviews and best/worst lists, and the 1986 Mets World Series on RBI Baseball which has over 117,000 views.
Hot damn, nice link. That did not disappoint.
Evo is always good, especially the quality of their commentators.
I don’t anymore, but I used to watch the hell out of Criken playing Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2. He did a series called “Funny Moments of Getting Owned.” Sample.
Another “oh, I forgot!” is the EVE Alliance Tournament is coming up. I don’t play the game but still have a bunch of fun watching. My husband played for years so I have a pretty good handle on the terminology from listening to him. Anyway, the commentators are pretty good at explaining things for the casual and non players so it’s not a big mystery, either.
When your alliance makes it to the finals, and you’re not some big shot like Rote Kappele or Pandemic Legion, it’s a big deal. So I had scads more fun last year when my husband’s alliance squeaked in and even won their first match. This year he’s taken a break so it won’t be quite the same even though the alliance he’s “with” (in the sense that if he plays again he’s still on their roster) has made it in. I’ll still be watching anyway.